A Father's Dying Wish
by Ren Suzugamori
Summary: This is the beginning of story about a Man, a boy, and a promise. Two kids facing unknown dangers, together. Can these two find a silver lining in the darkness? A safe haven where they can survive the horrors of this horrible crumbling world? Find out. Now. Rated M for language and violence.


The Walking Dead

Chapter 1: A Father's dying wish.

Disclaimer/Informer: I do not own anything from telltale game's walking dead or MTV's celebrity death match. The only things I do own are my two original characters and the words that follow this brief description. Majority of this chapter will be told in one of the Oc's point of view. Thank you and enjoy viewers.

In the streets of Macon were a teenager and a child. They were running through the streets ducking and dodging what appeared to be living, breathing corpses. The decaying skin, the soulless eyes, the nauseating smell and thousand yard stare made you want to run at the sight of them. The two were running for what appeared to be a drug store.

"_**Lawrence maybe somebody is in the drug store. Maybe they can help**__," _said the little boy struggling to keep up. The boy's pants were dampened with a dark red color of blood as were the teen's pants and jacket.

"_**Alright come on. Let's see if it's ope**__," _the teenager known as Lawrence trailed off as he stops himself mid sentence. His eyes widen as beats of sweat came pouring down the side of his face as he looks ahead.

The sheer vastness of undead that filled the streets instilled fear and hesitation into the teen as he began to slowly back away from the bulk of the horde. Lawrence had pulled the child possible known as TJ behind him acting as his shield. As the dead seemed to gather around them slowly, Lawrence backs up more and more against the iron-gate. Lawrence desperately tried to rip the gates down with brute force, but to no avail as the gate had a combination lock on it.

"_**Gawd damn it! Why Won't These Fucking Gates Open**__," _Lawrence yelled ferociously as he let go of the gate and slowly looked behind him to see the horde getting closer and closer. The rattling noise of the gates seemed to have attracted them.

"_**Lawrence? Are we gonna die**__," _Asked Tj with his voice quivering. Lawrence only pulled Tj closer to him to avoid being grabbed by one of those…things. The mere thought of losing Tj boiled his blood. Lawrence squints his eyes in anger as he looked for a possible opening to make a run for it. This looked like the end for the two and the moaning became louder and louder with each limping corps.

Lawrence's POV

**You know those days when things can go straight to shit in a heartbeat for no apparent reason? Well today marks my 2nd shity day and counting. My name is Lawrence Hamilton, second year college student at the University of Georgia and Athletics, majoring in art with light heavy weight boxing as a close hobby, Hmpf as if any of that shit matters any more. Just two days ago I was enjoying life as any 20 year old college student would, like winning boxing matches, going to parties and getting above average test scores. Who would have thought in 2 short days I'd be fighting for my life on the street of Macon in front of some randomly locked drug store surrounded by…dead people!? Well you don't see this shit happening every day do you, well beside movies anyway. O well, guess I gotta make the best of it before I get eaten alive. Life has gone from a living hell to a bitch in 48 hours.**

Two Days earlier

Out on the right side of a freeway near Macon was a 2 story house. Outside of the house were a teenage boy and a punching bag that hung from a tree branch. The boy wore boxing tap on his fists as he began punching the bag in a sequence of punches while dodging and waiving as if someone was fighting back. The boy wore a grey hoody and black gym shorts with crocs. As the time rolled on, the boy had broke a sweat and picked up a towel and brushed his brow. The punching bag began to seep sand as it slowly deflated from the amount of power in the punches it received.

"_**Hmp next time I'll beat him. And there won't be any TKO ruling to save his ass next time. Pshh fucking judges**__," _said the teen as he took a seat on a stump of wood. The teen had dark brown skin, black hair with dark brown eyes. His hair was cut evenly with no facial hair besides a light trimmed mustache. Hey wore a necklace with the letter "L" engraved on it. On his right cheek a white band-aid was tapped on as well as under his left eye.

The winds blew as the teen took a look up at the sky. The skies were grey, the air was heavy and the smell of water alerted the teen that it was going to rain soon. He decided to go inside of the house to avoid an unwanted shower. Upon entering the house, a little boy came by and handed the teen a bottle of cold water.

"_**Hey Champ! How was your work out**__,"_ Asked the little boy handing him the bottle. The boy had light peach skin, black hair, cerulean blues eyes and a small silver harmonica with black outlining hanging around his neck. He was wearing a red shirt with black pants and grey shoes. He began to run circles around the teen in excitement. The teen then began to get annoyed as he wipes his face again and takes a swig of water before answering his question with silence. The teenager walked pasted the child and into another room. The teenager and the boy sat down in what seemed to be a living room.

"_**Hey are you still mad? It's ok if you are. You had that guy beat L and we all know it. The guy had a bloody nose, a black eye and he looked like he was gonna pee his pants in the last round. So…**__," _Said the boy as he pats the teenager's shoulder. The teen known as Lawrence was waving his head to try and signal the boy to stop talking.

"_**Tj just drop it. I lost fair and square nough said so let's change the subject**__," _Lawrence said in a stern tone. Lawrence's facial expression screamed "Not in the fucking mood" as he drank his water slowly. Lawrence seemed to be the silent strong type with a hint of lone wolf in him. He eyes were half open as if he were going to sleep.

The boy "Tj" looked down for a moment as he was sad to see his friend so dismal and uncaring. He tried to cheer Lawrence up as best he could, but it seemed hopeless to try. Even so, Tj tried in his best attempt to make Lawrence happy. So he stayed ever persistent and offered some TV shows to distract him from the current funk he's in.

"_**Hey you wanna watch some cartoons**__," _Asked Tj hoping to get an answer out of Lawrence. Tj never once stop trying to get eye contact with Lawrence. He really wanted to help if he could, but Lawrence didn't seem to be in the mood to do much of anything. He attention seemed to be elsewhere as his mind was in the clouds per say.

"_**Whatever. Don't really care**__," _Lawrence said nonchalantly. He really didn't care for television shows at the time. He takes the hood of his hoody and flings it over his head to avoid eye contact. Tj slightly takes notice to this and tries to lighten the mood once again.

"_**O come on L don't be like that. I'll find a way to cheer you up promise. Just gotta find the right channel. Now I know you like anime cartoons so let's see what channels you have**__,"_ Tj said with a wide grin on his face. Lawrence sat up in the chair he sat in a huff as he took another swig of water.

"_**What did I tell you? Stop calling me L, Gawd! Why do you come over here all the time anyway**__," _Asked Lawrence lowering his tone with curiosity in his voice.

"_**Well since you live by yourself I thought you could use some company and my mom and dad are at work all summer so I don't have anywhere else to go, but here or boring summer camp. So like it or not you're stuck with me**__," _Tj exclaimed happily as he began to flick through the channels.

"_**Ugh why do I even try? You're always a pain in my ass. Why didn't your parents send you away for summer camp**__," _Lawrence asked taking the hood off of his head to see what was on. Tj then takes a seat next to Lawrence. Lawrence only took notice as he looked outside to see the rain had begun to fall.

The thunder had begun to disrupt the cable and began to mess with the TV signal. The fuzziness of the channels began to annoy Tj as he started to shake the TV back and forth as if that would help return the picture.

"_**Calm down kid it's the satellite. It's just being shaken out there. We'll just have to wait a minute. So chill out and grab something to drink**__," _Lawrence said as he stood up and looked out the window to see nothing but the rain poor down harder.

Tj pouted and stomped his way into the kitchen toget himself a water. The time rolled on as the rain began to subside and calm down. Lawrence and Tj had both fallen asleep on his couch. Tj had been leaning on Lawrence's shoulder while Lawrence leaned back on a pillow. Lawrence was first to awake and noticed Tj sound asleep on his shoulder. He takes the nearest pillow and places it under Tj's head gently.

Lawrence stands up and stretches his legs and arms to only see it had been 8:55 PM. 8 hours had pasted and there wasn't much to do so he then takes a seat in a nearby chair in the kitchen to see the TV is still on. Lawrence was slightly shocked to see his face on the TV broadcasted by ESPN. It was a news report on his fight for the world heavyweight championship.

"_**Well JB now here's the fight we've all been waiting for. Lawrence Hamilton and 3 time world champ Peter "the killer" Anderson dukeing it out for the championship gold. This fight had to be quite frankly the single most historic fight I've ever seen in college league boxing. The champ giving a shot to some nobody from Macon, needless to say that was a questionable call by the champ, but boy when I say the champ looked tired the champ looked tired as he got a hell of lot more than he bargained for in this fight. Tell'em JB**__,"_ One announcer said in a narrative tone.

"_**Right you are Bobby talk about a David v.s Goliath scenario. This kid Lawrence Hamilton made his debut on the scene as one of the biggest under dogs in college boxing. Standing at 6 foot 1 with a record of 75 wins and 21 losses, Lawrence Hamilton could not, would not and shall not be denied his claim for a title shot**__," _the second announcer said impassioned by Lawrence raise as a boxer.

Lawrence listens unwillingly as he finishes his now warm water and begins to makes a sandwich in boredom.

"_**But it all came crashing down as the underdog suffered his first major loss number #22 at the hands of the champ via TKO. Some boxing fans, critics, veterans even former champs would say the champ escaped with a fluke victory and Hamilton deservers the championship belt. On a more personal note so do I. No one has ever come this close to beating the champ and not only that he's the only person to ever put the champ down on the mat for 7 seconds. I was on the edge of my seat in the 6**__**th**__** round when the champ went down. And tell me you heard them crowd chanting the kid's name**__," _The first announcer said.

Lawrence takes notice to the tone of the conversation took and began to listen more intensely, but still uncaring.

"_**Well be that as it may, Peter Anderson is still the world heavyweight champion. The judges scored the match down the middle and the numbers showed that Hamilton hit the mat one too many times that night. The first round he went down in one hit which everyone expected to be the end of the cinderella story known as Lawrence Hamilton**__," _The second announcer said.

Lawrence only huffed and clenched his fists in anger at that last comment made about hitting the ground to many times. He only muttered "_**Fuck**__**you, what the fuck do you know**__?!" _under his breath.

"_**But you have to consider the fact that he was fighting in a different weight class than he's originally use to. This kid is only 20 years old, 172 pounds going up against a 29 year old 268 pound power house of a man. This fight should have never taken place in the first place. It was an unfair advantage for the champ as it was during the fight, but considering the fact that both fighters came out with battle scares was not surprising**__," _Exclaimed the first announcer.

Lawrence's eyes widen with interest as the conversation began animated over a few words exchanged between the two announcers.

"_**Once again, the decision of the judges is final. Lawrence just couldn't get the job done last night. Taking nothing away from the Mr. Hamilton, he actually shocked the world by managing to stay in the fight for more than one round with the champ. Not only that, but like you said early, he put the champ down for a moment and honestly the champ looked tired. He's legs were very wobbly and he had a lot of swelling in the eyes. In fact, after the fight the camera crew caught video footage of the champ going berserk at the fact he came this close to losing. If there's one thing I know for sure after watching that fight it's that Lawrence Hamilton just doesn't have an ounce of fear in him. In the near future I could say with a doubt that Lawrence Hamilton will go down as one of the greatest boxers in the business**__," _The second announcer said in high esteem.

Lawrence only grinned with a bit of a blush in his cheeks as he was flattered to hear them talk about his match.

"_**Well from all of use to you at home this is JB and Bobby Wright sighing off. Good fight and good night**__," _Said the announcers simultaneously.

Lawrence decided to change the channel to see what else was on before turning for the night. As he flicked through the channel after channel, he came across a news report regarding his college. "_**Did something happen**__,_" Lawrence thought as he put the remote down on the table.

"_**Good evening. This is Carley**__**Dickerson reporting from Macon news at 9. Shocking news has come to light as the senator was found dead in his home with a broken neck at the bottom of a staircase**__," _Said the reporter named Carley said. Lawrence only listened in horror and disbelief as he tries to figure out who could have done such a horrible thing.

"_**The culprit was identified as 37 year old Lee Evert. A college teacher who taught at the University of Georgia**__," _Carley the report announced.

Lawrence spits out the water he was drinking and begins to cough up a storm as he begins to look at the artist rendering of the culprit. The man was of African American decent like himself and had a beard growing into his sideburns. Lawrence's eyes shook in shock of the face he saw on the screen.

"_**Professor Lee?! No god damn way! What the fuck is this**__," _Lawrence yelled as he grabbed the TV with forceful palms. He began to sheever with nervousness and anger as he couldn't believe what he was hearing on the news.

"_**From the Intel that the police have gathered from the culprit's ex-wife, Sharmel Evert, had been knowingly been participating in an affair with the senator. The two were together in a bedroom when the culprit came in and caught the two in the act of sexual relations. Dumbfounded, the culprit took the situation to an entirely different level**__,"_ The report continued on.

Lawrence grew more and more angry the more he heard that his professor had killed someone. He couldn't believe that his teacher could do such a thing. As the news report went on, Lawrence realized there was nothing he could do no matter how much he tried to think about it. So he decided to turn the TV off and go to bed.

"_**Goddamnit, what the fuck's happening**__," _Lawrence said holding the arch of his nose in disbelief. Lawrence rubbed his face repeatedly hoping that all of this would be a horrible nightmare that he could simply wake up from. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

In the teen's pocket a vibration was felt. A square light shined through his shorts. Lawrence reached into his pocket to see his cell phone was ringing. The screen flashed "_**Mr. Jameson**__". _It was TJ's dad calling. Lawrence stumbled to get his phone out of his pocket.

"_**Hello. Hamilton speaking**__," _Lawrencesaid strongly into the bottom half of the phone. The sound of his voice seemed slightly shaken, frightful and sad about the man on the television, he casted his eyes to the ground in silence as he continued to think of his professor completely oblivious to the person on the other end of the phone.

"_**Hello, Lawrence? Are you there**__," _Mr. Jameson asked on the end of the phone awaiting a reply from Lawrence. Lawrence jumps in shock at the sound from his phone. He's drops the phone, but quickly picks it up and replies back.

"_**O-o hello Mr. Jameson, what's up**__," _Asked Lawrence.

"_**O you know just the usual can food drive for the homeless. Unfortunately, there was an accident with Debra. There was this homeless man who was begging for change and he wound up scratching Debra's wrist for money. He's been apprehended and taken into custody by the local authorities so that solves that. Now there's the matter with Timothy. I can't very well have him stay home alone so if you don't mind me asking would you mind having him stayed with you for the night**__," _asked Mr. Jameson. **"**_**I know you prefer to be alone, but it would mean the world to Timothy to stay the night over with you. He really likes hanging around you."**_

Lawrence felt as thou he had no choice at this point. He swallowed a gust of air in a let out a heavy sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck in irritation. Plus he's wife was injured so he couldn't very well turn a child away with no guardian into a house.

"_**Alright I'll just put him in my room until you come in the morning**__," _Lawrence said in agreement.

"_**O thank you Lawrence. I knew I could count on you. I'll gladly pay for your troubles when I get back**__," _Mr. Jameson exclaimed.

"_**It's no problem Mr. J. I'll look after him. Tell Debra I hope she gets well soon**__," _Lawrence said as he took a seat next to Tj.

"_**I will thank you. I know she'll be fine. Alright see you in the morning**__," _Mr. Jameson said as he ended the call. Lawrence replied with a later and presses the red phone icon to end the conversation.

Lawrence slid his phone back into his pocket as he turned the TV off. Tj began to shift and turn as he tried to get comfortable on the cough. It wasn't exactly made for sleeping on, but some nights it would suffice. Lawrence couldn't stand the sounds of the screeches from his sofa and decided to take Tj to his room. Lawrence places Tj on his back while cradling his legs with his forearms as Tj's arms dangled. Tj slowly begins to awaken upon entering the bedroom.

"_**Mmmmm hey L what's going on? Are my parents here yet**__,"_ Asked Tj. Lawrence only placed Tj on the bed and pulled a blanket over him. He then placed two pillows underneath his head for added comfort.

"_**No they're still out. Your mom had an accident so they'll pick you up in the morning. So you'll be spending the night with me I guess**__," _Lawrence said with his back turned out the door. Tj's eyes widen with excitement as he began to rub his eyes.

"_**COOL! O man we can stay up all night playing video games, watching scary movies. And maybe even watch those late night channels mom and dad told me were for grown-ups only**__," _Tj said jumping up and down on Lawrence's bed. Lawrence's facial reaction was surprised and slightly embarrassed as he unfortunately knew what he was talking about.

"_**Yeaaaaaaaaa, no. You're going to bed right now**_," Lawrence said as he pulled out a bed from his closet with a blanket and pillow inside.

"_**Awww man why, it's only 9:07**__," _Tj said with his bottom lip quivering. Lawrence only arched his eyebrow in annoyance as he looked on at Tj.

"_**You're kidding me with the baby blue eyes right? That's not gonna work on me. Go to sleep now**__," _Lawrence demanded.

"_**Hmpf! You're no fun. Jerk**__," _Tj said playful before jumping on the bed one last time and wrapping himself in the blanker.

"_**Whatever just go to sleep**__,"_ Lawrence said flopping on the bed with his hands behind his head.

"_**Hey Lawrence**__," _Tj said coyly as he held the blanket to his lips. Before Lawrence could answer as he normally would, he noticed the tone of voice Tj was in and it seemed like he sounded scared.

"_**Is my mom gonna be ok**__," _Tj asked slightly scared and shaking in the bed. Lawrence got up from his bed and sat down on his bed with Tj and placed his hand on Tj's head and stroked his hair.

"_**Hey don't worry. Your mom is as tough as they come. she'll be alright. Besides that, your dad said that it was only a scratch so how bad can it be? I got scratches on my face and you don't see me going to the doctor. All I do is put bandages on them and there you're good as new, so no need to worry alright Tim. Now get some rest**__,"_ Lawrence said in his strong voice as he pats Tj's head.

Tj had a single tear in his eye. Lawrence catches a glimpse of the tear, pulls him in, and bring Tj close and wipes it away. Tj holds onto Lawrence's ribs in a hugging motion.

"_**Hey hey none of that, you gotta be tough alright. Remember what I told you? Little boys never cry. They keep their heads up and shoulders back with no fear. Don't ever forget that. Someday someone close to you who's scared is gonna need you to be strong for them and if you're scared then how are you gonna save the day? You said you want to be a super hero when you grow didn't you**__,"_ Lawrence asked holding Tj close. Tj only nods "_Yes_" to his question.

"_**Then stop crying. Grit those teeth and toughen up. You cry more than a new born baby. Are you a baby Tj**__," _Asked Lawrence in an insulting tone.

"_**No! I'm not a baby! I'm tough and I'm gonna show you by roughing you up you big bully**__," _Tjexclaimed angrily as he begins to punch Lawrence's arm.

Lawrence couldn't contain the laughter in his gut as he found Tj's punches humorous he then pulled Tj's head in a headlock and drilled his fist into his cranial.

"_**Ahhh stop it**__," _Screamed Tj as he squeezed his head out.

"_*__**Laughter**__* __**Alright kid now go to sleep. You got school in the morning so you gotta get up early. So don't give me any crap about I didn't get any sleep**__," _Lawrence said as he crawled into his own bed.

"_**Ok, but Lawrence**__,"_ TJ said tenderly.

"_**Ugh what is it now**__," _Lawrence replied slightly annoyed.

"_**Thank you for taking me in. I know you didn't have to, but you still did. You're the greatest, right next to mom and dad. You're my best friend in the whole world**__," _Tj said as he smiled at Lawrence with warmth.

Lawrence only looked on in awe as Tj lied down and flew asleep quite peacefully. He could only stare at Tj and wonder what he thinking. He'd be lying to himself if he didn't like that comment about being the greatest. He just didn't want to bring it to any attention. After over thinking the situation, Lawrence fell asleep himself.

Early Morning

The skies were clear. The birds were creeping and the sun was shining through the windows. The beams of light glistened off of Lawrence's eyes forcing him to awaken.

"_**Ughhhhhhh shit. I hate sunny days**__," _Moaned Lawrence as he dragged himself out of bed while stretching his legs out for stiffness.

After doing the usual routine of cleaning the body face and mouth, Lawrence decided to cook breakfast for himself and Tj who had yet to awake, but before going down stairs, Lawrence hears and vibration in his room. He walks into the room to see his phone on silent ringing. He picks the phone up and sees 4 missed calls and 2 voice messages.

"_**O shit I better listen to these voice messages**__," _Lawrence said with urgency.

Lawrence walks downstairs to so the noise of his voice messages wouldn't disturb Tj's sleeping. He then begins to hear Mr. Jameson's voice. It sounded as if he was in a hurry for some reason, but his voice could barely be heard. Lawrence turns the volume up to its highest to try and make out what was possibly happening.

"_**Message 1 left at 10:13 pm**__," _The phone's answering machine narrated.

"_**Lawrence if you're hearing this then please stay awake until I get there! Listen there isn't much time. All the local hospitals were booked for some strange reason so I had to think drastically. I tried taking Debra to Crawford hospital in savanna, but something has happened, something horrible. It's like they're some kind of cannibal cult there. Hear what I'm about to say next and really listen. The dead are coming back to life and are attacking and eating people! I can't believe myself, but it's true. Dead people are coming back to life and EATING the living. They walk around like humans, but they just attack everything they see. The military is opening fire on everyone. They're assuming everyone is like one of those things just to be safe. It's like the end of the world. Look just wait there until I get home I'm bringing Debra home with me. She isn't do to well. It's been out for hours and ever since then she's been breathing slow and for some strange reason her skin is turning pale…..Wait hold I think she's coming around. Debra your awake! O thank god honey I'm so happy you're… Wait what are you!? ugh! Argh! AHHHHHHHHHHH! GAHHHHHHHHHH**__," _Mr. Jameson screamed into the phone. The sounds of gargling and grunts polluted Lawrence's ear.

"_**End of message**__," _Lawrence's phone repeated.

Lawrence's thoughts were scattered as he tried to keep calm after hearing a grown man scream. _"__**What could have made him scream like that**__," _Lawrencethought_. _He thought to himself for possible answers to his question so he could come to a conclusion with the least horrifying conclusion.

"_**To hear more voice messages press 1 to end call press 2 to hear more phone options press 3**__," _Lawrence's cell repeated annoyingly.

Lawrence was brought out of his deep thought as he pressed 1. He only wondered if he could help in any way possible. So he listened for any possible details towards Mr. Jameson well being by listening to the next message. The voice on the other end sounded faint. All you could hear is heavy breathing and coughing.

"_**Message 2 left a 12:45 am. *Coughing* *Heavy gasping* Lawrence are you there? If you are p-please pick up. I just made it to our house across the street from you and I was planning on coming over, but I can't move. I don't I have the strength to get up so I have to tell you this now. Debra…is…dead. The doctor's said it would be a lost cause to try and save her. She was losing a lot of blood and he hair started to fall out. Then her heart flat lined in the hospital bed. I didn't want to believe she was gone, but the doctors couldn't tell me otherwise. They kept going on and on about some type of infection. It somehow brings the dead back to life. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's true. Debra came back and…. Attacked me**__," _Mr. Jameson said while struggling to keep his breathing steady.

As he continued to cough into the phone, Lawrence almost fell to the ground upon hearing about Debra. _"__**How could this have happened**__," _Lawrence said as he couldn't try to believe the death of his neighbor. Lawrence stayed silent and tried to fight the urge to hit the wall in anger.

"_**Lawrence you need to know. Debra died from the scratch from the beggar yesterday. The scratch sent some type of virus through her blood stream and killed her. At least that's what the doctor said. Before I could ask how he knew, he threw us out with most of the sick and elderly in Crawford. Maybe going such a long distance for help wasn't the best plan. No it was downright fucking stupid! *Coughing!* It was something that the doctor told me that was concerning. He said once your bit or even scratched by one of them you die, then you come back and eat everything in sight. Food, water, even people. Basically anything that makes a noise. And Debra bite my arm so I guess I'm**__," _Said Mr. Jameson very slowly with breathes of air after every word.

Lawrence began to shake and shiver at the thought of both his neighbors dead, the neighbors who gladly went out of their way to invite him over for holiday dinners, the neighbors who supported him in his boxing carrier, the neighbors he had befriend once he first moved here. He didn't want them to die. He desperately tried talking into the phone, but he knew he wasn't going to answers.

"_**L-listen Lawrence before I….. Die I need to tell you two things. First try to avoid as many of these monsters as possible. They look like dead bodies, but they walk around freely like us so be careful. They can see and hear just like us, but they don't walk all that fast. If you ever had to fight them, use something blunt like a golf club or a metal bat. Make sure you take the head off. That's their only weak spot they have, without the head the die. The Military had been shooting them in the head and it seems to be the way to deal with them SO…..*heavy breathing* so just do that if the situation gets desperate**__,"_ Mr. J once again struggled to mutter the words out.

Lawrence started to walk around the kitchen pacing back and forth. His hands were shaking and sweaty. The more he thought of his neighbors dead the more he couldn't believe. It as if this was some type of nightmare that was his reality. And what was all this about dead people coming back to life. _"__**Could he be serious**__" _Lawrence thought denying his words. "_**Dead**__**people can't come back to life. Could they?**__" _This constant thought was etched into the back of Lawrence's head.

"_**Lawrence this is the last possible thing I can ask of you. S-second**__,"_ Mr. Jameson said knowing this could be his last chance.

Lawrence listens intently as he could hear the urgency in his voice. He grips his phone for dear life as he was waiting to hear what Mr. J had to say. _"__**Come on old man what is it**__!?," _Lawrence said trying to hear what was on the other line, but the phone was silent. Lawrence's kept the phone to his ear hoping he would hear someone until.

"_**Please…take care… of… Timothy…. for me. For…. Us. Protect him like h-he's your o-o-own, aaahhhhh**__," _Mr. Jameson said sounding as if he had his last breath. The sound of jumbling items in the background had been the last thing Lawrence heard before complete silence.

"_**Mr. J, no you can't be dead. Not you too, no no no no**__," _Lawrence said dropping his phone and shaking his head.

He begins to slide down on to his knees and hug his legs in pain and shock. He least out heavy sighs and hits the wall as hard as he could to channel some of the anger out of his system.

"_**Hey Lawrence are you ok**__," _Asked a familiar voice.

It had been Tj who had awakened from his slumber. Lawrence only looked at Tj with sad eyes. He then gets up off the floor and confronts Tj with the horrible news.

"_**Tj look something happened to your mom and dad. You might wanna sit down for this**__," _Lawrence said guiding Tj to the living room.

Tj looked at Lawrence in concern as he heard mention of his parents. He plops himself on the couch and listens for Lawrence's story. Lawrence struggled to get the words out to Tj's ears. He couldn't very well go and tell him that his parents were dead. That would make him feel alone and sad. That's the last thing he wanted to do. The more time Lawrence took stalling Tj, the more Tj grew impatient.

"_**Lawrence what are you talking about? Look I see my dad right there walking outside**__," _Tj said pointing out the window and took off outside.

Lawrence springs up and opens the blinds to see what Tj said was accurate. He was spot on as he saw a middle aged looking man walking in the middle of the street. Unfortunately, his skin was pale. There was a red stain on his right arm that seemed to be bleeding. From a distance it looked as if he was just walking around aimlessly. Something struck Lawrence as peculiar. Why wasn't there anyone outside? It was like no one was home or in the neighborhood for that matter. Well upon hearing the door slam behind him, Tj's father turned around at the sound of the door.

"_**Daddy, your home… ewww you smell funny. Um daddy where's mommy**__," _Tj said stopping inches away from his father. Tj's father only turned around slowly and reached his arms out towards him and begins to grunt.

"_**D-daddy? You're scaring me. Why do you look like that**__,"_ Tj asked desperately as he begins to back up.

Lawrence looks on at this and begins to recall what Mr. Jameson said about being bit. _"__**The doctors said once your bit you die and you come back then you eat everything in sight food, water, even people. Basically anything that makes a noise**__". _Lawrence could only imagine if what Mr. J said was true. So he rushed to his closet by the front door and pulls out a pair of metal gloves with leather insides. The gloves themselves looked like they would do severally damage a human beings body if hit with the right amount of force. The fists were blunt looking with shard finger edges. The fingers were sharp to the point where you could poke an eye out with the simplest mistake.

Mr. J had been closing in on Tj who was now crawling away from his father in desperation. Mr. J had been limping and grunting with each step towards Tj he made. His eyes were empty, his skin seemed to be falling off chunk by chunk.

"_**Daddy please stop it**__," _Tj said with tears in his eyes.

Mr. Jameson had now been on the ground and crawling towards Tj. Tj had hit the back of a car and was frozen in fear at his father. He couldn't move an inch as he stared straight at his father's face. Tj's dad makes his way towards Tj and grabs his leg. Tj struggled to get his leg free, but Mr. J used both his hands to pull him closer.

"_**N-no Help Me**__," _Tj screamed as he used his other leg to kick his father's face in a last desperate attempt.

Just before Tj's father was getting ready to attack, a large boot made swift contact with Mr. J's head. Tj looked up to see Lawrence standing over him. Lawrence forcefully picks up Mr. J and begins shoves his head into a car window repeatedly. The sounds of glass shattering and flesh ripping rattled the air as Lawrence grunts in anger. Tj looks on in horror at the vicious pummeling of his father that was taking place by Lawrence's hand. The blood began to splash onto his shirt as well as Tj's pant's and face.

"_**Lawrence stop! That's my dad, you're hurting him**__," _Tj said pulling Lawrence's arm away from Mr. J.

Lawrence only looked at Tj and saw tears in his eyes and blood on his face. Lawrence let go of Mr. J's head and pulls Tj away from his father.

"_**I'm sorry Tj. This is what I was trying to tell you earlier. Your mom and dad are…..dead. I didn't want to tell you this first hand because it would be hard to believe, but I didn't want you to see this of all things. O god I'm so sorry Tj**__," _Lawrence said looking at the ground fist clenched and eyes shut tightly.

Tj only looked at his father's head bashed in. The deformed face was something straight out of a gory movie. Tj only looks at the sky and begins to cry. His cry was loud and heart wrenching. Lawrence then took Tj in his arms and hugs him tightly. Tj cries into Lawrence shoulder.

"_**Lawrence where's my mommy? Please tell me**__," _Tj begged him to tell him where.

Lawrence knew where, but didn't want to say. It would only lead to more suffering for Tj which was the last thing he needed. Lawrence looks over to see a green minivan in the drive way across the street with someone hanging outside of it. There was a hand on the ground bleeding out profusely. The hand had a wedding ring on and with it a picture on the ground of 2 adults and one child. Lawrence only picked up Tj and brought him inside. Before closing the door, Lawrence walks outside and towards the green minivan. He knells down and picks up the picture. It was slightly covered in blood.

"_**O god Debra why, look I promise I will take good care of Tj for you. I promise**__," _Lawrence said slipping the picture into his pocket.

Lawrence stands back up slowly while looking at the body. He couldn't believe that this dead body was his neighbor's. It was disheartening to try and swallow the fact that they were gone. Before walking away Lawrence decided to see if her eyes were closed, but upon looking at her face there lied a huge gaping hole where her left eye used to be. There was a kitchen knife logged into her eye. It made Lawrence want to puke, but he swallowed his breakfast and walked away.

As the hours pass by, Lawrence had cleaned himself and Tj. He had on a gray button up shirt, with his black boots, green cargo's and silver metal gloves. Tj had on a black long sleeve shirt with blue jeans, grey and black shoes and his harmonica. After an inventory cheek, Lawrence handed Tj a metal bat and backpack.

"_**Here take this. I know it's a bit heavy, but it's just in case one of those things tries to grab you again. All you have to do is hit them in the head a few times. They'll go down. And the backpack is full of band-aids and snacks just in case you get hungry alright**__," _Lawrence explained. Tj only nods in agreement as he holds Lawrence's hand.

Tj hadn't said a word since seeing his father in pool of blood right in front of him. Then again, how would anybody deal with the loss of a loved one like a father? It crushed his very being seeing his father dead on the ground. His eyes were no longer filled with happiness and glee. They were infected with the image of death and violence surrounding his father's dead body. Tj had been truly scared for life as of now.

"_**Alright come on. It's time we got out of here**__," _Lawrence said as he grabs his car keys.

Lawrence and Tj got in the car and drive away from the neighborhood for possibly the final time. Lawrence and Tj both look at their houses and look away knowing how many memories they held near and dear laid behind them. It was painful to do, but there wasn't much choice in the matter. Tj had a tear fall down his face, but quickly wipes it away as he looked at Lawrence and tried to imitate his posture.

"_**Hey kid. Remember when I said little boys never cry**__," _Lawrence asked. Tj nods "_**yes**_"

"_**Well keep that saying close, but don't be afraid to cry. It's alright to cry every now and then. So if you want to cry then go ahead it's ok**__," _Lawrence said with a single tear rolling down his face. He too felt sad to do what he had to do to Mr. J.

Tj looked at Lawrence and back at his harmonica which was around his neck. The same harmonica his parents gave him. Tj's tears began to fall as he started to play his harmonica lowly. He plays his harmonica with the greatest of ease. The sounds from his harmonic seemed to have eased the pain slightly for the moment as Lawrence drives through a small town in the middle of the road.

Mid-day

The streets were cluttered with abandon cars, stores had been ransacked and the streets were completely barren of life. It was dead silent outside as Lawrence's car had run of gas. There wasn't any other choice but to walk.

"_**Well looks like this is as far as we can go. Let's go Tj**__," _Lawrence said trying to stay calm as he slams his door close.

Tj follows Lawrence's lead and closes his door. The two walked through the streets trying to find help of some kind. Dead bodies polluted the streets in an orderly fashion as if someone had shot them precisely in the head. There was some type of struggle out here and it seemed to have been between the living and the dead.

"_**Lawrence was there a fight out here? Maybe there's someone around that can help us**__," _Tj said staying optimistic.

"_**I think you're right. Come on let's find out if there is someone out here**__," _Lawrence said walking in the middle of the street.

Lawrence cons the area and sees the town destroyed from the inside out. Lawrence looks at an down land line which had someone underneath it. He looked like a doctor's assistant or nurse. Lawrence walks over towards the body hoping he wouldn't be one of those things. To his displeasure, he looks up and begins to grunt and reach out for Lawrence. Tj runs behind Lawrence clutches the bat in his hand.

"_**Poor bastard, I wish I could help you out, but there's only one way I can do that**__," _Lawrence said as he kneeled down on one knee face to face with the man underneath the land line. Lawrence felt a sense of déjà vu from the man in front of him. As if he's seen his face before.

Tj looks at the man under the land line. He it reminded him of his father. He had the same lifeless look in his eyes along with the same rotting smell. Lawrence decided to send Tj away so he would have to see what he was going to do to this man. Lawrence couldn't bare the fact that Tj is seeing too much violence as it is with his parents. So he tries to prevent any more harm by sending Tj away.

"_**I'm sorry it had to be this way**__," _Lawrence said readying his gauntlets of steel. Tj tries to look back to see Lawrence do the unthinkable, but Lawrence stops the attempt with a point of the figure and stern eyes.

After Tj was out of sight, Lawrence decided to end this man's torture by smashing the man's head in with his fists. The splattering of blood and flesh painted the walls along with majority of his pants and fists a dark red color. The man's grunts continued on as it kept trying to grab hold of Lawrence. Lawrence couldn't take much more of killing. He had never done it before today and now he's doing it for the 2nd time in a row. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in his chest.

"_**This has to be done. No matter how….much I don't want to do it**__," _Lawrence said to himself trying to find motivation in his words.

After mulling it over, Lawrence gave the man one last punishing blow to the head. The man's face looked as it was sliced away by a lawn-mower. Needless to say it was a horrific sight to see. Lawrence breathed heavily as he looked at his gauntlets. His hands shook in fear as he saw what he looked at the carnage he caused. Tj had made his way back Lawrence's side and looked at the body. Lawrence tried to stop Tj before he looked, but there was no point. Tj had caught a good glimpse of the man Lawrence had just killed. Tj's only looked down at the ground and shed one tear for the man.

Lawrence knew who Tj was thinking about at this moment. It was sad to see him like this, but there's was no to mourn the dead.

"_**Come Tj it's time we move on**__," _Lawrence said tapping Tj's shoulder.

Tj only wiped his face with his shirt then begins to walk away from Lawrence and down an random ally way.

"_**Hey Tj, wait a second. We have to stay toget**__-," _Lawrence said trying to catch up to him, but then a loud gunshot was fried it sounded as thou a gun had been fired from the drug store.

The sound of the gun shot had echoed through the entire town. In a matter of seconds, the sounds of walking and grunting could be heard from every direction of the small town. With a quick cone of the area, Lawrence notices people walking towards Tj and himself. They had the same look, slow limp and lifeless stare in their eyes.

"_**Tj! Get over here now," **_Lawrence yelled commanding Tj to his side.

As instructed, Tj makes his way over to Lawrence's side. The two tried to push their past the horde, but the more they tried to push through the more closer they came to being bitten. There was no maneuvering past them. Their attention had been focused on them. Lawrence begins to back up slowly towards his car hoping it would be a safe haven from the monsters. To his disbelief, a few of the undead had been surrounding the car. Trying to go near it would be suicide.

"_**Damn it! Where can we go**_,"Lawrence asked in frustration.

Tj sees Lawrence face in a knot and tries to look for a solution for their survival. Tj notices the drug store where the gun shot came from. It had to have people inside it didn't? So what's the harm in trying.

Present Time and Day

"_**Lawrence somebody maybe in the drug store. Maybe they can help**_," Tj suggested in a nervous tone.

Lawrence notices the drug store and tries thinks of the possible reasons why gun shot was fired. But there wasn't enough time think rationally. He had to get himself and Tj to safety as soon as possible.

"_**Alright come on. Let's see if it's ope-**_," Lawrence trailed off as he noticed the horde getting closer to them.

Lawrence noticed this and begins to make a run for the gates. As he tries to pull the gates open, the sound of rattling of the iron-gate had attracted all of the undead to them. With each step closer towards them, Lawrence had fear and hesitation instilled into him as he began to slowly back away from the bulk of the horde. Lawrence had pulled Tj behind him acting as his shield. As the dead seemed to gather around them slowly, Lawrence backs up more and more against the iron-gate. Lawrence desperately tried to rip the gates down with brute force, but to no avail as the gate had a combination lock on it.

"_**Gawd damn it! Why Won't These Fucking Gates Open**__," _Lawrence yelled fiercely as he let go of the gate and quickly looked behind him to see the horde getting closer and closer. The rattling noise of the gates seemed to have attracted them.

"_**Lawrence? Are we gonna die**__," _Asked Tj with his voice quivering. Lawrence only pulled Tj closer to him to avoid being grabbed by one of those…things. The mere thought of losing Tj boiled his blood. Lawrence narrows his eyes his eyes in anger as he searched for a possible opportunity to make a run for it. This looked like the end for the two and the moaning became louder and louder with each limping corps.

Just as all hope seemed lost, the sounds of rapid wheels had ripped the silence of the street. Lawrence and Tj had only looked down the street from the drug store to see two trucks with camouflage green uniforms on. It had been the military forces.

"_**Men ready on my mark! Ready, OPEN FIRE**_," yelled one military guard as he shifts his arm forward.

Lawrence knew full well what was coming next. He grabs Tj had ducks down onto the ground holding his head close to him. In an instant, a hailstorm of bullets mowed down the undead as if they were nothing. Bullet penetrated heads, chests, and legs as the soldiers took the horde down. As the bullets began to die down, the hoard had been completely destroyed. It stunned and amazed Lawrence at how quickly the horde they just as easily were killed.

"_**Alright men good work. We need to regroup with the staff sergeant and full up on supplies**_," Said the military man.

Lawrence noticed just how close he and Tj came to death and wanted to thank the soldiers for the assist. So he runs in front of one of the trucks and stops it. One of the soldiers had pointed his gun at Lawrence in assumption that he was one of them.

"_**Sir, permission to open fire**_," Asked a young man with a green helmet on.

Lawrence immediately put his hands up in the air as he mention of open fire. He didn't want to end of dead. Tj sees this and rushes to Lawrence side jumping in front of him acting as his shield.

"_**Permission denied cadet. Those are civilians. We never open fire on civvies you know that**_," Said the older military man.

Lawrence only let out a gust of air in relief that he wasn't going to be shot. He knells down to Tj and looks at him in concern.

"_**You alright kid**_," Lawrence asked Tj as he wipes the blood off of his pants.

"_**Mhmm I'm alright**__," _Tj replies slight shaken and scared.

Lawrence pats Tj's head in an attempt to help ease Tj's fear, wishful thinking on his part, but what could he do at this point? As Lawrence had finished checking on Tj, the military men had begun to drive off.

"_**Hey where are you guys going? We need your help**_," Lawrence said running after them.

"_**Sorry kid, but we have to look after our own. There are people who need us more and we can't bring civilians into an active war zone. From the looks of it you can handle it from here just steer clear of them**_," Said the older military man.

Lawrence could see some logic in his words, but he still wanted to know what was going on. So in a last ditch effort, he asked the military men what was going on.

"_**Hey do you guys know just what the hell is going on**_," Lawrence asked in irritation.

The military man only held the arch of his nose. He then pulls out a hand gun and reloads it with a rectangular black box. He tosses it a Lawrence's feet for some unknown reason.

"_**I do not anymore than you do at this point son, but all I can say is this. Survive. Keep that gun handy at all times. The safety is located on the back left hand corner of the handle. Just put it in your belt and you'll be fine. Good luck son. LET'S MOVE OUT**_," Said the military man as he slaps the truck ordering it to move out.

Lawrence only looked on in completely perplexed at the older man's answer. He only picks the gun on the ground and held it in his hands. He moves his hands along the groves the gun amazed at how much mass it had to it. Lawrence then notices a small button on the side left corner of the gun and presses it. The gun had a clicking sound to it and the trigger had been stopped completely. The more he tried to pull it, the hard it got.

"_**Lawrence what do we do now**_," Tj asked as he pulled Lawrence's arm.

Lawrence was thinking about the things he just experienced in the past few hours. It was all a bit much to take in at a time. Tj sees this and steps in front of Lawrence while holding his arm.

"_**Hey Lawrence it's ok. I know we'll be ok. You're the smartest guy I know. So don't be sad ok**_," Tj said in a composed voice. He sounded as if he had made peace with everything that has happened.

Lawrence looks at Tj and cracks a small smile just for Tj's sack knowing he was right. Lawrence at that moment puts his new gun in his belt.

"_**Alright let's see we can get into this drug store**_," Lawrence said looking for a possible way into the drug store.

Just as Lawrence thought of possibly forgetting the drug as a possibility, the door to the drug store opened. Two people came outside and stopped Lawrence from going.

"_**Hey what a second, do you guys need help**_," Said a man in a white and blue cap.

Lawrence only turns around and see two men standing on the opposite side of the gates. One was a heavier set man with a green shirt on.

"_**Doug we have to help these kids. Look at them they only have one gun and a bat. They won't last a second out there**_," Said the blue cap man.

"_**Well I agree with you entirely Glenn, but I don't want to hear Lily snap again. We already had 5 more people come in as it is**_," The man known as Doug said.

"_**And is two more gonna hurt, come on there's a kid out here. Are you really gonna turn them away**_," The man known as Glenn asked.

Doug only sighed heavily and gulps as he knew something bad was about to happen.

"Fine, there's a ally way around the back of this store. We'll open it for you. Just promise you won't cause any trouble ok," Doug asked.

Lawrence and Tj only nodded as they followed the instructions to the exact details, but Lawrence only hopped that this was a good idea, for Tj' sake.

Chapter 1 End


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